Star Trek: The Experience
Star Trek: The Experience is a US$70 million permanent Star Trek-themed attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, owned by Cedar Fair Enterprise, containing shops styled after the Deep Space 9 Promenade, a restaurant styled after Quark's, The History of the Future Museum (which is a large collection of props and artifacts), and the Klingon Encounter and Borg Invasion 4D rides. The store is the largest Star Trek themed store in the world. The Experience opened with 2,500 on hand for a gala premier on 3 January 1998, and was originally a property owned by Paramount Parks, built by Landmark Entertainment resort/theme park developer and coordinated by the Paramount/Viacom licensing division. It was sold to Cedar Fair stock id (FUN), owner of Knotts Berry Farm; with the other Paramount Parks division amid the parent Viacom split of CBS and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The facility plays host to parties, receptions, weddings, scheduled events, and conventions. Those who wish to hold their wedding can have it in Starfleet uniform on the bridge of the , with Star Trek aliens such as Ferengi and Klingons as witnesses. The bridge facility is available for photo opportunities and costumes may be rented for same. Star Trek: The Experience : "Klingon Encounter: & "Borg 4D" adventures uniquely combine ride simulators, accurately detailed sets, special effects and trained, dedicated costumed live actors to make guests truly feel they are actually in the Trek universe. The site offers tie-in parties, photo opportunities and sidebar events when Creation Entertainment's annual Star Trek convention is held at the Hilton in August. On the Star Trek: Voyager Season 1 DVD, a special feature explains the attraction, including interviews with some staff members and performers. On 2 May 2008, trekmovie.com reported the future of Star Trek: The Experience was in doubt due to the current contract expiring on 31 December 2008. As of 2 May 2008, no additional agreement has been reached between CBS and attraction owners Cedar Fair. ''Klingon Encounter'' Description Initially, a group of about twenty visitors enter a rather confining room. (The exact number of participants varies, as friends and family are unlikely to split.) Once inside the room, one of the ride directors begins speaking about the Experience and seems to be intentionally making it sound unexciting, like you are "visiting a typical museum" and limited to a shuttle ride – motion simulator. During this initial lecture of Star Trek history, a small device displays scenes from several Star Trek movies. The group enters the next room, where they are instructed via monitor about the shuttle ride when there is "trouble" with the monitors... then the lights go out. Dozens of small round flashes flicker through the darkness to simulate the "transporter effect", accompanied by the transporter sound effect and a rush of cold air. When the lights return, the walls and floor have changed! you appear to be on the transporter pad aboard the USS Enterprise-D, the layout is similar to the usual transporter room as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation; The group is facing a Starfleet uniformed transporter technician at their station. While on the transporter pad, a Starfleet officer asks the group leaders (two ride-tour directors) to accompany them. An Officer then explains that the visitors were beamed aboard the starship Enterprise and are in "what 'you' would call the future, the year 2371." He then requests the group to follow him. You are led down a typical starship corridor to... the bridge! On the bridge, the group stands in the rear between the science stations and the tactical station. A crewmember explains that Captain Jean-Luc Picard disappeared the moment the group beamed aboard the Enterprise. Although the three chairs that (from port to starboard) where Counselor Deanna Troi, Picard, and Commander William Riker usually occupy are empty, that is only visible if one ventures to look over the semicircular counter that houses the tactical station. There are various crewmembers busy on the bridge during this time, and they contact Commander Riker, who promptly appears on the main viewscreen. Riker explains that a group of rogue Klingons, led by Korath, transported your group to the future because "one of you is an ancestor of Captain Picard". Koraths plan was to kill the group, and prevent Picard's existence. Riker states that your group is escape via shuttlecraft to and go through a temporal rift, which should return all the guests back to their original time, and restore the existence of Captain Picard. While the group is in the turbolift, the Klingons attack the Enterprise. There is a malfunction and the turbolift enters a (simulated) free fall. There are several jolts on the turbolift during the attack. Finally, the group arrives at the shuttle bay deck along a large section of corridor. The group then lines up to board the shuttlecraft. Each line corresponds to a row of seats in the shuttle, so people in the same line will sit in the same row. The shuttle ride, 'led' by Geordi La Forge, begins by exiting the Enterprise and entering a battle between the Enterprise and a few Klingon vessels. The shuttle goes into warp and drops out in the rings of a planet, where they're instructed to find and destroy a cloaking generator on the planet's surface. There are several dogfights during this time. The shuttle then returns through the temporal rift to present-day Las Vegas. However a Klingon ship followed, and locks a tractor beam on the group's shuttle. "It's over, Humans!" Korath exclaims! "But take heart, today is a good day to die!" Suddenly a familiar voice states "If you say so, Korath..." The Klingon ship then explodes in front of you as the Enterprise flies triumphantly through the ship's destruction, complete with Goldsmith-esque fanfare. The shuttle lands at the Las Vegas Hilton, in a unique manner, and the ride ends, right next to the "motion simulators" the visitors were supposedly waiting to enter before they were "beamed off" at the start of the story. Before the crew of the Enterprise leaves, Captain Picard opens a communique to the shuttle and thanks the group for "restoring his existence." He states "While only one of you is my ancestor, each of you holds that same opportunity for the future. Guard it well." The shuttle door opens, and typically there is a custodian behind it. He explains that the shuttle fell through the floor and that this is a restricted area, and they must leave immediately. The custodian leads the group to an elevator and then out to the Deep Space 9 Promenade and Quark's Bar and Restaurant. While waiting for the elevator, the group members can watch a monitor with a 'breaking' local Las Vegas "news broadcast" featuring the "UFO" sightings that were the Klingons and the Enterprise. "Behind The Scenes Tour" Star Trek The Experience Secrets Unveiled is a paid, fully guided, behind-the-scenes look at the various Experience productions. Offered daily at limited times so as not to interfere with the working tours (and occasionally paused midway while one is "backstage" to allow the production to execute) participants wear wireless headsets, and see how the many special effects are executed, the walk around promenade and production characters costumes, make up and character histories are developed. Upon completion a customized certificate is presented to attendees Background Information * This script, replacing an initial story offered by attraction developer Landmark and rejected by Star Trek then-executive producer Rick Berman, was written by actual Star Trek series writers Rene Echevarria (TNG and DS9) and Kenneth Biller (VOY). It was intentionally meant to play on participants' role as Las Vegas tourists, rather than as residents of the Star Trek future. * Several faithfully-recreated locales comprise this ride, including the Enterprise transporter room, bridge, and a shuttlebay. Longtime Star Trek production designer Herman Zimmerman was contracted to oversee design and construction as accurately as feasible, although some features – such as standard lighted exit signs, not Starfleet-style signage – had to be compromised for real-world building and safety codes. * The bridge – complete with animated controls and working viewscreen – can be rented for private functions, such as weddings. * In 2004, two of the four bridge sets and others were compressed or rearranged to make room for the new sister attraction, Borg Invasion 4D. * The title Klingon Encounter was coined only after the second ride was added. Previously, it had simply been known as just the "Star Trek: The Experience ride." Cast * Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker * LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge * Vaughn Armstrong as Korath * Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard (voice only) * Debra Wilson as computer voice References 2371; ''Enterprise'', USS (NCC-1701-D); Klingon Bird-of-Prey; Las Vegas; time travel; turbolift ''Borg Invasion 4D'' The Borg Invasion 4D opened on . It was developed by Paramount Parks, working closely with Rick Berman Productions, Viacom Consumer Products and a number of Star Trek consultants and creators to insure the authenticity of the experience. Threshold Digital Entertainment produced the 3D film portion. Description (Spoiler!)This ride takes groups of up to 48 people at a time. They enter a briefing room aboard the Starfleet science research facility Copernicus Station. The briefing room has a large viewscreen in the front beyond a podium, upon which several Starfleet personnel stand. There is also a Starfleet officer on the opposite side of the room. On the screen, The Doctor from the appears and greets the group. He explains that the group has been selected to undergo medical testing because some of the members are immune to Borg nanotechnology (which he "detected" when the group entered the room). In the middle of his presentation to the guests, the Doctor is interrupted by one of the station administrators. She says that they've detected a ship approaching the station at high warp. Since it doesn't respond to communications, the station goes to yellow alert (as the lights dim). The administrator says that they will postpone the medical testing until this possible threat is dealt with. When the tactical officer of the station has a visual, the administrator says, "Let's see it." Lo and behold, in all its grim glory, it is a full size Borg cube that slowly and ominously approaches the station. The officers in the room and The Doctor all share the same grim expression, knowing that difficult times are ahead. The station goes to red alert (with the lights now flashing red) and the administrator orders to open fire on the cube, the ground shakes beneath and the sound of phasers and quantum torpedoes firing thunderously as they leave the station. The cube looks to sustain heavy damage, but it fires a projectile, and all the lights go dark, not before hearing a large amount of static. Then, all as one, the dreaded automata speak. "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." The viewscreen comes back online, and the Doctor checks in with a young security officer. When the Doctor asks if he's all right, the officer says, "For now. There's an extraordinary amount of damage down here. Sir, the Borg have entered the facility. The station's being overrun." The Doctor then tells the group to get to the nearest escape shuttle while there's still time. As he is about to end the transmission, you see a group of drones enter behind him. The Doctor proceeds to fire a phaser, and you see one of the medical technicians injected with Borg nanoprobes as his skin turns ghastly white, and his veins turn black. A security officer enters the room, and leads the group to the next room: a corridor that looks severely damaged. As the group is in the corridor, a Borg drone appears to move towards the group, but turns instead to examine an LCARS computer panel. The Starfleet officer tells the group that he poses no threat at the moment, then the door the officer is standing in front of opens and a drone pulls him into a turbolift as he screams and yells at the group to save themselves. At the opposite end of the room is an officer on an elevated station. He proceeds to try and open the next door, but instead shoots the panel with his phaser as the drone that was examining the computer console moves towards the group. That drone is eliminated, but as the door to the shuttle opens, an unseen drone pulls the technician up from the ceiling as he screams. The group then enters a room that purports to be an escape vessel. Everyone picks up "safety glasses" (3D goggles) and sits down. The shuttle takes off from the station, but is pulled inside the Borg cube. The front of the shuttle is blown open (utilizing 3D effects) and small Borg probes enter the shuttle and spray the group with nanoprobes. They wriggles under the skin (by way of motion prods under the seats) as the Borg Queen appears. She begins lecturing about the perfection of the collective and demands the surrender of the group's inhibitions and impels them to join the hive mind. At that moment, the Doctor projects himself into the hallucination, telling the group to fight it. "You are resistant to assimilation! Fight it! We're coming for you, help is on the..." He then cuts out. The group, now out of the hallucination, listens to The Queen as she begins lecturing, purporting that no one has ever resisted assimilation. Then, another communication enters the ship and a familiar female voice says, "Maybe it's time we even the sides." The Queen looks abashed. "Janeway!" She screams. Admiral Kathryn Janeway appears on two side viewscreens as we see the Voyager burst through the far side of the cube as the shuttle's force field activates around the blown off area in the front. Janeway addresses the Queen: "Stand aside, I've come to take these people home." "You're a fool Janeway, there will always be more drones!" the Queen yells. "Soon, this ship, and everything in it will be destroyed!" "Don't bet on it" Janeway says, as Voyager fires phasers on the Queen's position. She appears to beam out before she could be destroyed. Janeway then orders, "Fire quantum torpedoes!" Voyager obliges, and leaves the cube in shambles as she locks her tractor beam on the group's shuttle, and we are then treated to the magnificent explosion of the Borg cube as it is defeated by the Federation. As the shuttle docks back at the original station, Janeway says to the group, "Congratulations. You've defeated the Borg with one thing the Queen can never assimilate: the Human spirit. As long as we have that, resistance will never be futile." The theme to the Voyager television show then plays, and everyone is directed to exit to the right. Effects include droplets of water, wind bursts, minor motion, and jabbing of the occupants – in the back and under the legs – through their chairs. (Though mild, the unexpected sensations can be startling.) Background Information * As with the Experience story that was eventually called Klingon Encounter, this script was penned by a Star Trek veteran, Voyager writer Lisa Klink. * This is the first Star Trek production that has ever been shot digitally. * This is the first all-digital motion picture to incorporate live-action and animation within a 3D cinema environment. * This is the first multiple-angle 3D cinema production with 3D effects from the front, overhead and both right and left sides of the participant. * This is the first world-wide attraction to use 2K digital cinema projection, which is twice as clear as other digital projection systems. Cast *Robert Picardo as The Doctor *Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway *Alice Krige as the Borg Queen References 2379; assimilation; Borg drone; quantum torpedo; ''Voyager'', USS General Cast ;Coin (pronounced "Quan") : Coin is a Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA) Liquidator, authorized to close retail and restaurant facilities with a single command. His credibility is questionable due to bad business decisions. He is held in low regard by employees and fellow Ferengi. Coin is eighty-three years old and still paying off his student loans. ;Rog'l : Rog'l claims to be the Ferengi "Commercial Forecaster" for the Grand Nagus and was one of the first to learn of the construction of the 21st century Time Station. He is one of the primary stockholders of Experience retail shop merchandise and pretends to like Humans, particularly children, to drive sales. ;Risca : Risca is a female Ferengi enjoying the new liberties granted to women on Ferenginar, such as travelling off-world and wearing clothes. She is visiting the station as part of the "New Ferenginar Student Exchange Program" and is studying 21st century fashion to apply it to the emerging field of Ferengi female fashion design. ;Motog : Motog is a Dahar master, an honorary Starfleet Vice Admiral, and a General in the Klingon Defense Force. He maintains ambassadorial/advisory status on the Time Station. Motog is a veteran of many conflicts, including the Dominion War. He emphasizes diplomacy and tolerance over confrontation. ;Major Kahlen : Kahlen is the head of the Diplomatic Security Force on the Time Station. She supervises all Klingons except for Motog. She is a member of the Science Division of the Klingon Defense Force, and is intelligent, but humorless. ;Commander Churoq : Churoq formerly patrolled the Beta Quadrant for the Borg; he later transferred to the Time Station, where he is currently serving in a diplomatic capacity. Churoq is short-tempered, and dislikes being "stranded" with Humans and Ferengi. ;Three of Six (aka Ensign Edward Adams) : Three of Six was assimilated by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2367, whereupon he was renamed Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero Four. He was given special attention during rehabilitation due to his family's connections. Three of Six was assigned to the 21st century Time Station for reintegration into Human culture, but his assignment has sparked some controversy. ;K'Stran Thral : K'Stran Thran is a lieutenant in the Andorian Imperial Guard, serving as intel attaché. He served in Starfleet on the and fought honorably in the Dominion War. His weakness for Orion women prompted his resignation from Starfleet and subsequent demotion to his low-level assignment on the Time Station. ;Liutenant Commander Tahryn : Tahryn is serving the Andorian Imperial Guard as a member of the Diplomatic Corps. Her current assignment is to interact with the non-Starfleet aliens present on the station and report her impressions of the humans and non-humans she encounters back to Andorian Imperial Command. ;Loriq : Loriq is a Romulan commander who was invited to the station by the Federation after careful negotiations. She intends to make use of the Federation's openness to evelop a better understanding of the alliances of the Alpha Quadrant and work towards political advancement. ;T'pril : A professor at the Vulcan Science Academy, T'pril accepted the position after serving for 15 years in Starfleet as a science officer. She is a specialist in behavioral science, and is currently acting as a field researcher on the Time Station. Her treatise, "A Study of Xenophobia in 21st Century Humans" was recently published by the Journal of Comparative Galactic Behavioral Studies. ;Sovek : Ambassador Sovek is a Vulcan assigned to investigate various errors discovered in the historical records relating to the 20th and 21st century. He believes that many of these errors come from the inaccurate and imprecise use of contemporary language. External links *[http://www.startrekexp.com/ Star Trek: The Experience] *Las Vegas Hilton Experience de:Star Trek: The Experience